Five Reasons to Abandon the Sofa and Explore Knoxville

Edgar Rice Burroughs once said, “We are, all of us, creatures of habit.” Sometimes those habits are good, sometimes not. As we get older, those habits, unless we work at them, become more deeply ingrained to the point that it’s difficult to change them. And that’s where I have found myself for the last two months – trapped in a habit of hibernating in my home and going out only when I had a commitment. I quit exploring, quit writing this blog, and stayed home. I had fallen back into the habit of hibernating at home and now I needed to find a reason to abandon the sofa and explore Knoxville again.

Let’s face it – our homes are our comfort zones – a place of safety. And it’s only natural to seek that out in today’s world where violence surrounds us, and people just don’t seem as friendly as they used to be. In addition, the worldwide pandemic which forced us to take refuge in our homes simply reinforced the habit of staying at home.

When you can order dinner and your groceries without ever leaving the comfort of your home, and when you can see theatrical releases almost immediately with Netflix or Amazon Prime, the reasons for going out diminish rapidly.

But when you’re trying to write a blog that focuses on getting out there and exploring, this homebody habit is devastating. It’s just a fact. If you don’t go out and explore, you have nothing to write about. This isn’t one of those blogs where you can do all your research online; I have to go out and visit places.

And it takes effort to go out and explore new coffee shops, hip restaurants, and picturesque locations. Over the past two months I’ve had to ask myself why I was finding it so hard to do that. And the answer was, I had fallen back into the habit of just staying at home. It was easier.

Once I realized that, I had to ask myself if this blog was something I really wanted to do and if so, why? Because if I couldn’t answer that question for me; if I couldn’t get off the sofa, how could I expect you to be willing to read my posts, abandon your sofa, and visit the places I write about.

So, after a lot of thought, I began writing, and then I thought some more. And then I wrote some more, and I came up with five reasons to abandon the sofa and explore Knoxville again.

The number one reason to abandon that comfy sofa is the fact that we live in an extraordinarily beautiful location. There’s a reason the Smokies are the most visited national park. In 2024 alone, over 12 million people packed their bags and drove or flew to spend only a few days in the Smoky Mountains. And we live here. So I had to ask myself why I didn’t spend more time in the Smokies or visiting places in Knoxville?

It seems to be a normal phenomenon that we value things more when we don’t have them readily available. And what I mean by that is that we are more likely to try a new restaurant or go sightseeing in a “vacation” location than we are when we are at home.

For instance, when I was going to California frequently to check on an elderly aunt, I bemoaned the fact that I didn’t have the time to visit any of the “tourist” locations. Once I got home, I started thinking about that. Why did I want to see all these sights, but I never went anywhere when I was at home?

That’s when the idea for Exploring Knoxville really took flight. I knew there were a zillion things to see in Knoxville and the surrounding areas that I had never visited, and I decided it was time to quit griping about the far away places I wasn’t seeing and start counting my blessings and go see some of the great places right outside my door.

While we live in a lovely part of the county, that might not be enough to get you to abandon the sofa and explore more than a few times a year. So, here’s another reason; it can foster a sense of community.

When I’m sitting at home or even when I’m at my favorite coffee shop with friends, there’s nothing new to see. I might talk a little bit to the barista, but my focus is on my friends. When I go out to explore, I’m meeting new people, seeing new things, tasting new foods, and sharing new experiences.

Over the course of the months I’ve been writing about Knoxville, I have met some fascinating people. I’ve learned facts about Knoxville that I never knew, and it’s given me a greater appreciation for the town I call home.

Let’s face it. If all we do is go to work and come home, we can become pretty boring people to be around. If you’re always going to the same three restaurants, you don’t have a lot to contribute when your friends are talking about their weekend plans.

But take a weekend or two a month to peruse a museum, sip a latte at a new coffee shop, try the chef’s special at the grand opening at a restaurant, or hike a new trail and you’re suddenly the star of the show. I’m not saying go somewhere every weekend. For those of us who are introverts, that sounds like torture; we love our time at home. What I am saying is…go out and experience something different one or two weekends a month. Try new things. Read this blog to get some ideas. You’ll be amazed at how fun it can be.

With the current phrase ,“Make America Healthy Again”, so popular, I couldn’t resist adding this reason. It’s no secret that sitting at home on the sofa has the tendency to negatively affect your health. Even if you’re doing things around the house, you’re not going to get the quality of exercise that you can experience while hiking a trail in the Smoky Mountains or exploring trails at Ijam’s Nature Center. But it doesn’t have to be a major hike; just walking around the Market Square Farmer’s Market could help you reach that goal of 10,000 steps.

And finally, you can’t look at a news site without seeing a report on how to avoid dementia. And it’s no wonder because the number of people with dementia is on the rise. Everyone, regardless of their age, wants to know how to avoid becoming a victim of this life-altering disease.

While there is no foolproof way to avoid Alzheimer’s and Dementia, experts do suggest habits to help reduce your risk. One of those habits is to engage in mentally stimulating activities in addition to being physically active. And what could be more mentally stimulating than exploring different activities, foods, locations, parks, and people?

I think as we grow older, we tend to gravitate toward the comfortable, the familiar. As we do that, our world tends to grow smaller, especially if we experience any kind of health challenge. If we allow it, we might wake up one day to find our world only encompasses the distance between our living room and kitchen. So, let’s do what we can to prevent that today.

When I realized it had been two months since I had explored Knoxville and written about it, I was amazed. This week I decided it was time to break free from my sofa (and my recliner) and go exploring. I’ll write more about that next week and the week after. I’m breaking out of the habit of hibernating in my home. I’m going out and experiencing the world – or at least my little slice of it. And I invite you to do the same.

What about you? Do you find yourself hibernating or are you an extrovert who’s always up for adventure? Please post your comments below.

Feature image by Alexa from Pixabay